It's a story which began in Crosby, later took in Toxteth – and the latest chapter of which has just been written in Rome.

Vincent Nichols is the Liverpool fan who grew up in the parish of SS Peter and Paul in Crosby – where, as a 10-year-old, he dreamed of one day becoming a lorry driver.

That didn’t work out but, five years ago, he became the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, a congregation of 4.2 million people – and on February 22 he was made a cardinal by Pope Francis.

And His Eminence Vincent Nichols Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster will enjoy a special homecoming this Sunday when he performs a Mass of Thanksgiving at Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, between 3pm and 4.30pm.

“It will be a very emotional day,” he says. “I am looking forward very much to being in the cathedral and meeting whoever is able to come. All my early associations are with Liverpool and, while I also served in Wigan, I was a priest at St Anne’s in Toxteth from 1975 to 1980.”

Cardinal Nichols, 68, studied for the priesthood at the Venerable English College in Rome from 1963 and was ordained in that city in December 1969 for the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

And his recent return, to be made a cardinal, brought back special family memories for him relating to his late parents, Henry and Mary, who were teachers, his late older brother, Peter, and his younger brother John, who still lives in Liverpool and will be at the cathedral this Sunday.

He explains: “There were two events in St Peter’s Basilica which were very spectacular and very absorbing. But I also spent time in the Venerable English College, where I was ordained, and many memories very much came back – my parents and my brothers, who had been there with me in 1969, were very much in my mind as this journey took this remarkable turn.

“I was walking in the same corridors and was in the same dining room I had been in with my family and I met a woman who works in the hotel I was staying in who told me she remembered us being here in 1969 – and she even said ‘You were sitting at that table over there, and your mother’s two sisters were also with you’. It was quite astonishing.”

In 2009, as he was about to be as the new Archbishop of Westminster at a special Mass at Westminster Cathedral, following his nine years as Archbishop of Birmingham, the then Most Reverend Vincent Nichols told me about his childhood dream of wanting to be a lorry driver: “Maybe it was that thing of wanting to sit up high while driving through the night and on the open road – just a romantic idea,” he explained.

The haulage industry’s loss has been the Roman Catholic Church’s gain.

Today the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales says: “Having responded to what seemed to me to be God’s call I’ve never really had any period of deep distress or unhappiness – I’ve always found being a priest a very positive and rewarding way of life. And while being appointed as a cardinal does involve a lot of additional dimensions – inside of me, in my heart, I just think of myself as a priest.”

Cardinal Nichols is one of 19 new cardinals – they are the most senior clergymen below the Pope and essentially serve as his advisors – and will be eligible to elect future popes, until he reaches the age of 80.

Some commentators have suggested that Cardinal Nichols – the 11th Archbishop of Westminster to receive the honour of becoming a cardinal – could be the next Pope.

Not that this is something Cardinal Nichols would spend any time contemplating: “There are some very able men among the cardinals and this is a big church that’s in every continent and most nations – and you can’t assess and judge the unfolding of events in the Church, except from a broad perspective. And on that broad perspective, I am a little dot!

“And we have seen it with having a Pope from the Argentine – it has expanded everyone’s horizons. I think whenever the time comes it will be a worldwide debate, not just a European debate.”

The cardinal continues to look back fondly and with pride on his happy childhood in Crosby, and recognises how important it was in helping to shape his later life – while his links with the area remain strong.

He is president of the Crosby-based Jospice (St Joseph’s Hospice Association), which was founded by the late Father Francis O’Leary (his mother’s cousin), who often visited his family home.

“Foundations laid early on in life are very, very important,” he says. “For me, what stands out is my parents and their convictions of faith and steadfast practice of faith, with daily prayer and contributing to the life of the parish and going to Mass. That gave me a foundation that’s still in place.

“On top of that I got a wider sense of how the life of a priest is a happy life. I grew up in SS Peter and Paul parish, which had two or three assistant priests and it wasn’t at all surprising to find priests in our kitchen just talking about things – it was just a normal part of my life.”

The cardinal attended SS Peter and Paul RC Primary and St Mary’s College, and was brought up nearby in The Precincts, between Endbutt Lane and The Northern Road.

At St Mary’s he recalls exploring faith in RE lessons, and that sport and music were also very important at the school, revealing: “I was a member of the school orchestra – I played the French horn – and performed in the annual concerts at the Philharmonic Hall. My appreciation of music grew, while being in an orchestra also teaches you about teamwork.”

As, of course, does playing sport – and the cardinal still takes a great interest in the fortunes of Liverpool FC. With crucial games coming up, would he say a prayer for them? “No, I think it’s down to the players!”

Turning pundit, he says: “If Liverpool win at Manchester United I think we can begin to get serious about a good outcome. I think it’s a very important game.”

The cardinal has recently made waves in political and media circles for speaking passionately about poverty, calling the government’s social reform a “disgrace” for leaving people in “destitution”.

We discuss the ECHO’s recent Breadline Merseyside series, and the cardinal tells me: “This is one of the richest countries in the world but we have people living in hunger and destitution, which contrasts with the wealth that is still to be found here – and this is just so very, very distressing.

“The causes of poverty and the circumstances by which people arrive at dependency on foodbanks are very complex. There are many, many factors at play, therefore tackling the issue of poverty in Britain today is not simple. But the fact is it does make me feel both ashamed that we have people living in destitution and poverty and grateful to those who, out of compassion, generously offer their support – which might be through good neighbourliness or foodbanks.”

Meanwhile, looking ahead to the beginning of the new inquests and the 25th anniversary of the disaster, the cardinal says: “I would like to salute all those who have led the Hillsborough campaign and make special mention of (the recently retired) Bishop (James) Jones for the outstanding work that he did.

“And painful as it is, especially for the families, and embarrassing as it might be for some of the official bodies involved, it is right that this process continues until the true story is told. And when that account is clear and honest and responsibility rests where it should then I think people can have the sense of being able to put down that burden and say ‘OK, that’s done’ – and say ‘We must commend those who died to the Lord and find it in our hearts to forgive those who made terrible mistakes’.”